Why Working Mothers Face a Pay Gap

Posted by: Lauren Young on June 26

When the subject of motherhood is combined with work, the conversation can get nasty and divisive as evidenced by the comments to my recent post The Motherhood Penalty: Working Moms Face Pay Gap Vs. Childless Peers.

“I’m astounded at how heated the working mom debates are,” says Eileen Caines, a writer for the Orlando Examiner, in an email. “It’s not just working moms vs. stay-at-home moms anymore. It’s working moms vs. child-free coworkers. It’s working moms vs. working dads. It’s working moms vs. recently laid-off dads. Apparently, working moms can’t win.” (Caines also offers smart resume advice for working moms here.)

What sparked this dialogue was a study from researchers who used fake resumes for two equally qualified women–one childless, one a mom. The only way hiring managers could tell the difference is that the mom said she was an officer in an elementary school PTA on her resume. Yet, the non-parent, who listed that she was a volunteer with a community group, received 100% more callbacks from employers. Mothers also were consistently ranked as less competent and less committed than non-moms.

Although this research isn’t new, it’s fascinating to see how the conversation continues play out on The Wall Street Journal’s Juggle blog and Shine.

I checked back with lead researcher Shelley Correll, a professor of sociology at Stanford University’s School of Humanities and Science, with some follow up questions from readers.

Why is this a hot-button topic?
A lot of women make personally difficult choices whether to devote time to work or family. I think it makes them harsher on people who may make other choices. Let’s say you decide to leave a great job because you need childcare for kids. For some women, (that decision) can create tension between working and nonworking mothers.

Several readers wanted to know more about the “fake” resumes which included the PTA affiliation.
There are different stereotypes associated with motherhood and fatherhood. If a father says he is involved in the PTA, he is seen (by hiring managers) as more stable and committed to his job. But a mother is perceived to be less committed.

Why do you study gender disparities?
What got me interested is the data out there that show the pay gap between working mothers and childless women is larger for many segments of the population than the gender wage gap. I wanted to understand what is special about mothers that leads to disadvantages in terms of pay and promotion.

How do those disadvantages play out?
There is a face time penalty. People who spend long hours at work seem more committed, even if they aren’t working while at work. Men waste a lot more time at work than women. Mothers with children work much more efficiently. Observational studies have found that the amount of stuff working mothers get done when they are at work is higher compared to other people. But we value is face time, not efficiency.

These kinds of biases against mothers can be reduced when workplaces attempt to do so. With workplaces increasingly needing to hire the best people possible, it makes no sense to discriminate against the person who is a productive employee.

What other topics are you looking at?
I’m interested in men who take time off for eldercare, and how they are penalized. In my study, I found fathers experience no disadvantage for being a father, but other studies show if a father takes extended time off, he’s penalized. If he takes time off to care for an elderly parent or children, he is actually penalized worse than women are.

Do you have children?
No, I don’t, but I get asked this question a lot.

Do you think First Lady Michelle Obama will influence the way people think about work and family?
Michelle Obama passionately articulates that we need policies to promote work and family balance for men and women. Work-life balance is about sanity, and sanity is good for everyone. She’s lived that life. She is really going to make a difference in this way

Work-family balance is one of goals of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Michelle Obama came and spoke to the council. If she’s out talking about work-life issues, it’s really going to have an impact.

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/